Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

British Telecom: Huawei

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with BT regarding the planned timescales for closing the Public Switched Telephone Network in 2025; and what assessment they have made of the feasibility of this plan following the recent decision to request BT remove Huawei equipment from its network.

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to communicate the planned switch off of the Public Switched Telephone Network to residential and business consumers in the UK.

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to funding a nationwide communications campaign to raise awareness of the planned switch off of the Public Switched Telephone Network.

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide regular updates to Parliament on the progress of the planned switch off of the Public Switched Telephone Network.

baroness barran: The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. As this process is being led by industry, the department has no current plans to regularly update parliament on their progress.Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. On 14 July, the UK Government announced measures relating to Huawei following the additional US sanctions placed on the company by the US Department of Commerce. The Government advised full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. It will be for the operators themselves to make the commercial decisions necessary to comply with the Government’s decision. In June this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group launched the ‘Future of Voice’, a consumer-facing website to inform the public of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of DCMS, Ofcom, and telecoms companies. DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments on PSTN withdrawal, to discuss the impact this will have on consumers, business and public services and plans for migration to Internet Protocol technology.

Journalism: Ethnic Groups

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to support young BAME journalists.

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with UK newsrooms about addressing racism.

baroness barran: Racism or any form of discrimination has no place in the media or society. The media plays a vital role in British society and it has an important responsibility to reflect modern Britain. This can only be achieved through a representative, and diverse workforce.The government is committed to working together with industry to support greater diversity, and to ensure that everyone regardless of their background should have the same opportunity to go as far as their talents and hard work take them.In broadcast journalism, Ofcom, who are the independent communications regulator, publish an annual diversity report which provides diversity monitoring data for the main broadcasters and includes information on the diversity initiatives of their news teams. In the print media a number of national newspapers are running diversity schemes. These include the Daily Mail’s Stephen Lawrence Scholarship and BAME internships at the Guardian. The National Council for the Training of Journalists also runs a diversity fund.The Government does not wish to interfere in any way with editorial freedoms, operations or decision making in news organisations, but we encourage industry to do more to increase diversity in journalism.DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues and the Government is committed to ensuring that equality and diversity are a key feature in all of our interactions with industry.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Spirits and Wines: Imports

lord moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of changes to the requirements for labelling (1) wine, (2) sparkling wine, and (3) spirits, imported into the UK that will come into force at the end of the transition period.

lord moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements for bottles of wine detailing UK (1) bottlers, (2) vendors, (3) producers, or (4) import addresses, on EU wine products destined for the UK will apply after the end of the transition period.

lord goldsmith of richmond park: No specific assessment for wine or spirit labelling has been undertaken. However, Parliament has already passed the EU Withdrawal Act. Consistent with the Act, the changes that the secondary legislation stemming from it will make to labelling rules are necessary to correct deficiencies in retained EU law, including in relation to the information provided to consumers about the products they buy. Currently, EU wine imported into the UK needs to show the bottler or, in the case of sparkling wine, the name of the producer or vendor. From 1 January 2021 (subject to any period that is allowed for adoption of the new requirements), wine imported into Great Britain will in addition need to show the importer or, in the case of bulk shipments, the bottler.

Wines: Imports

lord moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to accept EU organic certification on imported wines after the end of the transition period; and what assessment they have made of whether such acceptance is likely to be reciprocated by the EU.

lord goldsmith of richmond park: The UK is negotiating an equivalence arrangement with the EU as part of the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. In addition, the six UK organic control bodies have applied to the Commission for recognition as equivalent. We are confident that through one of these routes we will be able to export organic food, drinks, feed and ingredients to the EU.

Wines: Imports

lord moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue best practice guidance on (1) business travel as part of the wine trade, and (2) the carrying of EU wine samples across borders, after the end of the transition period.

lord goldsmith of richmond park: There are no plans to issue specific guidance for business travel as part of the wine trade. As I mentioned in my response to the Noble Lord’s Question, HL7378, the exemptions for VI-1 certification include consignments of less than 100 litres and wine intended for trade shows.

Women and Equalities

Racial Discrimination

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the study by Number Cruncher Politics, published on 16 July, which stated that 55per cent of ethnic minorities said that racism has stayed the same or has got worse during their lifetimes.

baroness berridge: This Government is committed to tackling prejudice, racism and discrimination - and to improving the quality of data and evidence about the types of barriers faced by people from different backgrounds to help drive effective and lasting change.That is why we have established a new Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. This cross-government commission will examine all aspects of continuing racial and ethnic inequalities in Britain. The Commission aims to set out a new, positive agenda for change - balancing the needs of individuals, communities and society, maximising opportunities and ensuring fairness for all.It will build on the work of the Race Disparity Unit. The Commission will carry out a deeper examination of what the causes of these disparities are, and seek to establish what works to address them effectively.